Decentralisation minister Greg Clark (pictured) told the Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) Planning Convention on 29 June that councils from Teesside had already approached him about setting up one of the new partnerships.

“We’ve invited people where there is a natural economic geography, and they have jumped the gun,” he said. “They are eager to get started.”

Councils in Manchester and Birmingham have also expressed interest in creating partnerships of their own. Yet planners at the RTPI convention were less enthusiastic.

Steve Quartermain, Communities and Local Government chief planner, believes that many are unsure how to do their jobs without central government direction.

“For many people, this decentralisation agenda looks quite frightening,” he said. “I get emails every day asking when we will be giving advice on it. Well, the agenda is to do it for yourself.”

This new autonomy will create confusion among some planners. Doubts were raised about how councils in the “natural economic areas” covered by the partnerships will be encouraged to co-operate, after communities secretary Eric Pickles scrapped regional development agencies in May. Councils in Sussex and elsewhere have already grouped together to voice their concerns to the coalition.

Clark said the government would include a “duty to co-operate” in its decentralisation and localism bill, so councils would have to work with each other on issues such as infrastructure.

He also said communities should be given tangible incentives for supporting new developments.

“They can and should co-operate with planning policies that cross borders. For example, at Thames Gateway, which is a natural economic area, there should be co-operation.
“It is vital that communities have a chance to share the benefits of development with their local area. It’s important to say to communities that a new community centre or other facility could happen – to turn the abstract financial figure into something tangible.”

One more obvious question mark remains over the partnerships. Some councils want the regional development agency One North East to retain its regional structure as a partnership. However, Teesside local authorities have looked at submitting their own proposal. Such conflicts are set to arise elsewhere. How does a “localist” central government plan to resolve them?”

If they are competing,” Clark told PublicPropertyUK.com, “the government will have to choose between them.”

• Government to approve up to 26 local partnerships
• Government tells councils to set up local enterprise partnerships
• Cable gives regions hope over RDA cuts
• Government invites London enterprise partnerships
• “Big cuts” due for southern RDAs, says Cable